Was this guy pulling my leg?

Some people do it, some get away with it, some don't.

Don't do it.

Sincerely,
on-ca

Knuckles Muldoon said:
Was talking to a guy who says that he just fills up the cartridge and stuffs a bullet in? The guy is an avid hunter, big game, long shots. Uses primarily Browning rifles with the BOSS. Is this a safe thing to do? I've seen enough torture tests to know that most quality made firearms will take a load far beyond the recommended charge, but for how long?
Click to expand...
 
I can do that with IMR 4227 in .357 cases. I still use a measure but the amount is so near to filling the case that I could eyeball the loads easily. If I found a powder that filled the case perfectly and compressed well with a seated bullet then I probably would.
 
While I firmly believe that there are much better ways to load ammunition, this guy, if he has checked
properly, may well have a load that is perfectly safe loaded as he describes.
I'm guessing that his load will vary a bit, shot-to-shot, but may be quite safe overall.
For example, you cannot put enough old H4831 [not the SC version] in a 7x57 behind a 140 grain bullet
to make dangerous pressures.
So technically, you could scoop that 7x57 case full of old H4831, seat a 140 grain pill on top, and shoot away safely.
The same condition exists with the 30-06, a 180 grain bullet and H1000.
Regards, Eagleye.
 
I know not one, but two guys who fill 223 cases to the top with Varget and stuff a bullet down on top of it. Both claim to not show any pressure signs at all.

Bottom line is, like anything regarding reloading, you be careful about it and do your research.
 
Knuckles Muldoon said:
Was talking to a guy who says that he just fills up the cartridge and stuffs a bullet in? The guy is an avid hunter, big game, long shots. Uses primarily Browning rifles with the BOSS. Is this a safe thing to do? I've seen enough torture tests to know that most quality made firearms will take a load far beyond the recommended charge, but for how long?
Click to expand...

What cartridge? What powder?


As has been covered here once or twice already, if the correct powder is chosen, not gonna be a problem. Dip the case, scrape it with a business card, seat the bullet.

Do that with random gunpowder, without understanding what you are dealing with...well, life is hard for the stupid, eh.

Yeah, it can be done, if the person doing it knows which powders to use.

Cheers
Trev
 
People don't seem to remember the old Lee loaders for doing one cartridge at a time. All they came with was a scoop and a powder chart. I still have the set which I use occasionally(in conjunction with a powder scale) if I have my powder measure set up for something else. If you know the capacity of the case it's not that unreasonable
 
A one eyed gunsmith once told me,
"Fill em right up"
then pointed to his missing eye.

It was his standard answer when ever someone asked how much powder to put in a cartridge
 
17asleep said:
I know not one, but two guys who fill 223 cases to the top with Varget and stuff a bullet down on top of it. Both claim to not show any pressure signs at all.

Bottom line is, like anything regarding reloading, you be careful about it and do your research.
Click to expand...

I do similar. 27gr of varget is almost to the top of a win case. There is maybe a mm or 2 left to the top. Seat a 40gr bullet in there and good to go. No pressure signs what soever. This load is still under listed max.
Sometimes you can do it like others said depending on the powder and the case.
 
Northman999 said:
Generally this is terrible advice, as others have stated.

However, if the fellow you are talking about uses a specific primer/powder/case/bullet all the time and knows what he is doing, he could get away with it safely.

What the hell am I talking about you might say??

Well, I know for a fact that I can take a .270 win case, fill it to overflowing with IMR 4831, shake off the excess, seat any 130 - 140 grain bullet on this charge, and I'll be safe and within published load data (admittedly older, not so "lawyerized" data).

So, if the fellow you were talking about happens to know for a fact that his load is safe, then he's basically just being tricky when he explained his reloading method to you, and left out the fact that his load is much less random than he makes it sound.
Click to expand...

I am quite positive this is the case, my bad paraphrasing of our conversation was no help. Ive dealt with this guy for some time and have no doubt he is working within his abilities. To a guy who has never loaded it sounds insane. But after reading some of the explanations here, it makes perfect sense. Saying that, how much do you shorten the lifespan of a gun by such hot loads.
 
My 223 load actually requires compressing to seat the bullet ... If I tried that same powder compressed in my 416 it would probably kill me and the next dude in line.. Likely just a guy messing with you.. Some older fellas have not heard of the Internet yet so they have nothing better to entertain themselves with
 
Has anybody on this thread not heard of using a drop tube when reloading. Some powders fill a case so full that you have to pack it in before you can seat a bullet. I use to load a full case of H4831 for my 22-250 and then seat a bullet on top to compress. Very accurate and below max load. I agree that to just randomly fill a case is stupid and unsafe but there are loads you can do it with.
 
Kelly Timoffee said:
So, I guess consistency and accuracy are of little importance when reloading this way.
Click to expand...

Why would you think that the loader is not being consistent or accurate?

The OP, who is not the loader, has given up little in the way of info about that person or the caliber or powder used.

Guys have been getting acceptable accuracy from Lee scoops for decades. Why should this be any different? It is (at least somewhat) common enough knowledge that there ARE powders that cannot have enough stuffed into a case to create an over pressure situation.

The hand wringers and the ignorant, are busy decrying this fellas load technique, without knowing anything about what he is actually doing, that latter being a requirement, in order to intelligently judge the loader's actions.

The devil's in the details, and, just as in reloading itself, without some knowledge of those details, any guesses as to the loader's intent, capability, or results, are just so much hot air.

:)

Cheers
Trev
 
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